Former PETA Employee: PETA Killed Adoptable Puppies and Kittens

Posted on March 28, 2017 at 4:03 pm

A new document filed in the ongoing dognapping lawsuit against the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demonstrates the long-term, systemic pattern of trespassing, pet theft, and killing that occurs as part of PETA’s pet slaughterhouse operation at its Norfolk headquarters.

Heather Harper-Troje, a former PETA employee who worked on its Community Animal Project, recently submitted an affidavit in the lawsuit making shocking claims that, during her employment, PETA regularly rounded up and slaughtered healthy cats and dogs and even misled their owners:

“While employed at PETA, my primary responsibilities included gaining possession of as many cats and dogs and possible, almost all of which were euthanized.”

“Ingrid Newkirk was in charge of the Community Animal Project and Ingrid became my supervisor.”

“[Newkirk] said that an effort to adopt out an animal was a waste of PETA’s money and effort.”

“I was specifically told by my supervisors at PETA to tell people that we would find good homes for the dogs and cats, even though we knew the animals would be euthanized.”

“If we saw animals loose, even on someone’s property, we were to take them whenever we could. PETA would not hold them for five days. We would not obtain signed releases if an animal was stolen, but would euthanize the animals immediately.”

PETA focused on impoverished neighborhoods because “people from low income neighborhoods were more likely to relinquish their pets to us.”

“We would routinely euthanize healthy puppies and kittens and other highly adoptable animals.”

“I was instructed by Erica to over-estimate the size of the dogs and cats when euthanizing them so that there would be additional drugs that could be used kill dogs and cats ‘off the books,’ meaning that dogs and cats could be euthanized without reporting their death to the State. Erica told me these instructions came directly from [Newkirk].”

“Killing animals ‘off the books,’ was done so that PETA’s kill rate would not look as bad.”

These claims, made in a sworn affidavit, finally shed light on the abhorrent practices that PETA has engaged in over the past two decades. Earlier this month, we reported that PETA had killed 1,411 cats and dogs last year, which brought its pet slaughter total – since reporting began in 1998 – to 36,000 animals killed.

The lawsuit heads to trial in September. There’s little doubt if it gets that far that PETA will be scrambling to settle with a gag order and sweep the mess under the rug. But that would just be setting things up for PETA to continue business as usual. Hopefully Mr. Zarate, the plaintiff, will do the world a favor and expose PETA’s internal killings to the public.